Hello dear staffers of DA. We all know that DA is big because of the people turning the gears, and we've come to expect a certain level of commitment to your position as well as disposition to improve upon it.
For that reason, we've developed a "Code of Conduct", that more than being something to make you "behave", it's a reminder of what we hope to see and what you can do should any problems arise in various fields of Dueling Academy. Please read these lines when you have time and let us know of your concerns as well.
DA has been around for 5 years, and there's a good reason for such a feat: It's staff. Our staff stands out among others due to the ability they have to lead and be an example. This is something that DA wants from our staff, to be a guide for others and to help them in the most professional and courteous way possible.
-1: Etiquette as a DA member
A: As Staff
As a member of DA's staff, we expect you to control your trolling in the boards. Be proactive, post and be social, be serviceable and help others but do it the way you would want others to aid you when you're in need, not with insults, troll imagery or pointing out their errors with sarcasm and animosity. The majority of us are pretty young and this is something that we do with people we know and befriend, but do remember that on the other side there's a person which often times is younger than you who's expecting to have a fun time in a board for a children's card game. You must keep your language, behavior and disposition up to those standards.
B: As a friend
Your friends are a personal matter that has nothing to do with your staff position, but sometimes this could lead to bringing those friends into your staff position by giving them preferred services or overlooking their faults. Be fair at all times with everybody. If a friend of yours makes a mistake or breaks the rules, your responsibility is to let the corresponding staff know and answer to the situation accordingly.
C: As a duelist
As a duelist, you represent not only yourself but DA's staff. You will duel with honor and fairness, never cheat or adjust the rules to your advantage. You must always be courteous in your duels and present all evidence given of said matches in a proper manner and time. Do try not to rage quit. It makes you and our staff look bad.
-2: In your work
A: Language
Keep foul language to a minimum. Keep your cussing away from your staff posts as well as any vulgar content. Do not offend people regardless of circumstances. Even if they fight back, you are a staffer, your job is to withstand the personal offense, take care of the situation in a professional way and recur to your staff co-workers. Keep your head cool to answer to any and all personal attacks. Never take anything to heart.
B: Receiving Critique
Just as mentioned before, never take anything to heart. As a staff, you can't go down to a fighting level with anyone that may be trolling or critiquing you. If this comes by other members on your decks/art/writing, you may politely disagree but never come to "blows" with them. Take any positive feedback and use it for self-growth. Admins and other staff will sometimes try to give you advice on some things, and if this is something that is beneficial to you, try to take it the best way possible regardless of your opinion on the matter. Develop a tough skin. This won't only help you here but in life as well.
Section 2: Responsibility
People rely on you. They may be Slifers sometimes, new members that you don't know or the one Slifer guy that is everywhere and you've come to known. Sometimes it is your friends the ones that need you to be on edge. Often times it's Admins who require your aid to take care of some things. If things are asked of you, do your best to make them happen when possible. Your word is your oath.
-1: Your duties
A: Specially assigned
Take care of every duty assigned to you in an early manner so that they may not stack up. If you allow your work to stack up, you'll get lazy and won't want to do it. You need to take care of these duties as if they were yours; You need to promote them, ask people if they want to participate or convince others. Keep their boards clean removing any trolling or unnecessary conversations within it. For certain events, do not wait for an Admin to ask you to start it, if you're ready to roll with it ask your Admins if you can host it.
B: For Mods
Mods have a number of shared duties that range from Hosting Live events to updating DP. All of these need to be clean at all times and done in time. Always double check your numbers to rewards the right amount of DP or reduce the right amount as well. If a fellow mod needs aid with one of these duties, do not hesitate to ask; And those who get asked to help, do not hesitate to aid.
C: For Assistants
Assistants need to be the friendliest. They are usually the ones who interact the most with members in the chat as well as off topic boards. Make sure to help in any way you can and keep a positive attitude at things. You may not hold Mod powers, yet, you must do what you can to help a dispute to be settled or confront anyone who's breaking the rules.
D: For Teachers
Your help goes beyond social, but it goes more into the game. If anyone has a question about a rule or a game, we expect teachers to have the answer and even give a tiny example as to why these things work the way they are. We don't expect you guys to know everything, but we expect you to be capable of quick google searching.
-2: Availability
A: For Admins
Admins can't handle everything on their own. Often times they require staff to take care of things for them to work properly or to retaliate against improper behavior. Admins don't want to make you do everything. Do remember that while you are asked to host and score an event, they are already working on the next event behind the scenes. Make sure to be ready to assist whenever it's within your capabilities and schedule.
B: For Members
Just like before, try to be there for them whenever you are online and is within your reach. They may have questions about DA's rules, systems and games, and they will need your help. Some of them are pretty young, so try hard to be patient. Always stay friendly, and if it's not possible for you to aid them, make sure you ask someone who can.
This may sound redundant with other points, but now we're going in depth as to what your behavior should be as a staffer in all different areas of DA. Actions speak louder than words, the right ones leave the right example, and that's what we need.
-1: Inside DA
A: Towards Members
Respectful, friendly, amicable and understanding. Some people don't mean to troll or to post in the wrong area, so we don't need to scold them severely or punish their actions. Some of them truly have no idea of what they're doing, so a friendly warning should be in place. Sometimes the situation asks for a stronger grip of the rules and your Staff position. When the situation becomes too harsh or hostile, your duty is to rise to the situation and respond accordingly. Some people don't react to friendly warnings, so you must have a powerful response to them without falling for vulgarity. You know who they are, and if you don't, don't worry. They'll do it again soon enough.
B: Towards other Staff
Respect other staff members. Avoid all kinds of gossiping. Try to work well with your fellow staffers and assist them if requested. Do remember that there's power in numbers, and you'll come to rely on the help of other staff members eventually.
C: In The Chat
This is a sensitive topic. We all know the rules and the way we've answered to some things and we haven't to others. As a staff member, it is your duty to consider every possible situation when the rules are broken and ask for opinions of other staff members to find a solution to the matter. There is a topic specifically made for screenshots of rule-breaking situations and how we will respond to them, but there's also times where you need to act fast. Remember that you must always warn people to cease their actions before they go too far. If they don't listen to this, and the situation grows too large, it is imperative that you remove the member from the chat (ban) on the spot and inform everyone else after. Your job is to not let their actions snowball into a bad situation where people don't feel comfortable anymore. A lot of people in the chat are new members who's opinion of DA changes thanks to these people trolling or offending each with malice behind their words or imagery. Staff may not stand for these events.
On the other hand, you must see the actions of the parties involved as well. A lot of people like to mess around with each other, and if the people involved in something that seems to be extremely offensive are actually in the "game", then there is no true harm done. If they start to get too offensive that other members go silent or start o leave, you must enforce the rules and tell them in a firm manner that they need to tone down their little game. Any sort of disruptive behavior in excess must be met with this reaction.
You must also not participate in these games when there's a lot of people online. Play around, but keep any cussing and vulgarity away from your messages. If the chat is almost empty and there's only people you know won't be offended, you may toy around for a while as long as it's not harmful to anyone in there and it's not too vulgar.
-2: Outside of DA
We dont care what you guys do outside of DA as long as its not to defame our message board in another forum. Try to stay professional and avoid any defamatory conversations in regards to DA or your fellow staff members.
-Staff can suggest changes they consider beneficial for an event/project or the board itself. Higher rank staff members must take these into consideration and value the worth of opinions.
-Staff can swap duties with each other if they agree to the exchange and as long as they belong under the same rank.
-Staff can request to be moved to another staff section and this will be considered depending on the type of request.
-Staff can request to have some days off for personal issues or simply to take some time off and relax.
-Staff can appeal to any decision if they consider it unfair and other staffers agree.
For that reason, we've developed a "Code of Conduct", that more than being something to make you "behave", it's a reminder of what we hope to see and what you can do should any problems arise in various fields of Dueling Academy. Please read these lines when you have time and let us know of your concerns as well.
Code of conduct:
Section 1: Professionalism
DA has been around for 5 years, and there's a good reason for such a feat: It's staff. Our staff stands out among others due to the ability they have to lead and be an example. This is something that DA wants from our staff, to be a guide for others and to help them in the most professional and courteous way possible.
-1: Etiquette as a DA member
A: As Staff
As a member of DA's staff, we expect you to control your trolling in the boards. Be proactive, post and be social, be serviceable and help others but do it the way you would want others to aid you when you're in need, not with insults, troll imagery or pointing out their errors with sarcasm and animosity. The majority of us are pretty young and this is something that we do with people we know and befriend, but do remember that on the other side there's a person which often times is younger than you who's expecting to have a fun time in a board for a children's card game. You must keep your language, behavior and disposition up to those standards.
B: As a friend
Your friends are a personal matter that has nothing to do with your staff position, but sometimes this could lead to bringing those friends into your staff position by giving them preferred services or overlooking their faults. Be fair at all times with everybody. If a friend of yours makes a mistake or breaks the rules, your responsibility is to let the corresponding staff know and answer to the situation accordingly.
C: As a duelist
As a duelist, you represent not only yourself but DA's staff. You will duel with honor and fairness, never cheat or adjust the rules to your advantage. You must always be courteous in your duels and present all evidence given of said matches in a proper manner and time. Do try not to rage quit. It makes you and our staff look bad.
-2: In your work
A: Language
Keep foul language to a minimum. Keep your cussing away from your staff posts as well as any vulgar content. Do not offend people regardless of circumstances. Even if they fight back, you are a staffer, your job is to withstand the personal offense, take care of the situation in a professional way and recur to your staff co-workers. Keep your head cool to answer to any and all personal attacks. Never take anything to heart.
B: Receiving Critique
Just as mentioned before, never take anything to heart. As a staff, you can't go down to a fighting level with anyone that may be trolling or critiquing you. If this comes by other members on your decks/art/writing, you may politely disagree but never come to "blows" with them. Take any positive feedback and use it for self-growth. Admins and other staff will sometimes try to give you advice on some things, and if this is something that is beneficial to you, try to take it the best way possible regardless of your opinion on the matter. Develop a tough skin. This won't only help you here but in life as well.
Section 2: Responsibility
People rely on you. They may be Slifers sometimes, new members that you don't know or the one Slifer guy that is everywhere and you've come to known. Sometimes it is your friends the ones that need you to be on edge. Often times it's Admins who require your aid to take care of some things. If things are asked of you, do your best to make them happen when possible. Your word is your oath.
-1: Your duties
A: Specially assigned
Take care of every duty assigned to you in an early manner so that they may not stack up. If you allow your work to stack up, you'll get lazy and won't want to do it. You need to take care of these duties as if they were yours; You need to promote them, ask people if they want to participate or convince others. Keep their boards clean removing any trolling or unnecessary conversations within it. For certain events, do not wait for an Admin to ask you to start it, if you're ready to roll with it ask your Admins if you can host it.
B: For Mods
Mods have a number of shared duties that range from Hosting Live events to updating DP. All of these need to be clean at all times and done in time. Always double check your numbers to rewards the right amount of DP or reduce the right amount as well. If a fellow mod needs aid with one of these duties, do not hesitate to ask; And those who get asked to help, do not hesitate to aid.
C: For Assistants
Assistants need to be the friendliest. They are usually the ones who interact the most with members in the chat as well as off topic boards. Make sure to help in any way you can and keep a positive attitude at things. You may not hold Mod powers, yet, you must do what you can to help a dispute to be settled or confront anyone who's breaking the rules.
D: For Teachers
Your help goes beyond social, but it goes more into the game. If anyone has a question about a rule or a game, we expect teachers to have the answer and even give a tiny example as to why these things work the way they are. We don't expect you guys to know everything, but we expect you to be capable of quick google searching.
-2: Availability
A: For Admins
Admins can't handle everything on their own. Often times they require staff to take care of things for them to work properly or to retaliate against improper behavior. Admins don't want to make you do everything. Do remember that while you are asked to host and score an event, they are already working on the next event behind the scenes. Make sure to be ready to assist whenever it's within your capabilities and schedule.
B: For Members
Just like before, try to be there for them whenever you are online and is within your reach. They may have questions about DA's rules, systems and games, and they will need your help. Some of them are pretty young, so try hard to be patient. Always stay friendly, and if it's not possible for you to aid them, make sure you ask someone who can.
Section 3: Behavior
This may sound redundant with other points, but now we're going in depth as to what your behavior should be as a staffer in all different areas of DA. Actions speak louder than words, the right ones leave the right example, and that's what we need.
-1: Inside DA
A: Towards Members
Respectful, friendly, amicable and understanding. Some people don't mean to troll or to post in the wrong area, so we don't need to scold them severely or punish their actions. Some of them truly have no idea of what they're doing, so a friendly warning should be in place. Sometimes the situation asks for a stronger grip of the rules and your Staff position. When the situation becomes too harsh or hostile, your duty is to rise to the situation and respond accordingly. Some people don't react to friendly warnings, so you must have a powerful response to them without falling for vulgarity. You know who they are, and if you don't, don't worry. They'll do it again soon enough.
B: Towards other Staff
Respect other staff members. Avoid all kinds of gossiping. Try to work well with your fellow staffers and assist them if requested. Do remember that there's power in numbers, and you'll come to rely on the help of other staff members eventually.
C: In The Chat
This is a sensitive topic. We all know the rules and the way we've answered to some things and we haven't to others. As a staff member, it is your duty to consider every possible situation when the rules are broken and ask for opinions of other staff members to find a solution to the matter. There is a topic specifically made for screenshots of rule-breaking situations and how we will respond to them, but there's also times where you need to act fast. Remember that you must always warn people to cease their actions before they go too far. If they don't listen to this, and the situation grows too large, it is imperative that you remove the member from the chat (ban) on the spot and inform everyone else after. Your job is to not let their actions snowball into a bad situation where people don't feel comfortable anymore. A lot of people in the chat are new members who's opinion of DA changes thanks to these people trolling or offending each with malice behind their words or imagery. Staff may not stand for these events.
On the other hand, you must see the actions of the parties involved as well. A lot of people like to mess around with each other, and if the people involved in something that seems to be extremely offensive are actually in the "game", then there is no true harm done. If they start to get too offensive that other members go silent or start o leave, you must enforce the rules and tell them in a firm manner that they need to tone down their little game. Any sort of disruptive behavior in excess must be met with this reaction.
You must also not participate in these games when there's a lot of people online. Play around, but keep any cussing and vulgarity away from your messages. If the chat is almost empty and there's only people you know won't be offended, you may toy around for a while as long as it's not harmful to anyone in there and it's not too vulgar.
-2: Outside of DA
We dont care what you guys do outside of DA as long as its not to defame our message board in another forum. Try to stay professional and avoid any defamatory conversations in regards to DA or your fellow staff members.
Section 4: Staff Rights
-Staff can suggest changes they consider beneficial for an event/project or the board itself. Higher rank staff members must take these into consideration and value the worth of opinions.
-Staff can swap duties with each other if they agree to the exchange and as long as they belong under the same rank.
-Staff can request to be moved to another staff section and this will be considered depending on the type of request.
-Staff can request to have some days off for personal issues or simply to take some time off and relax.
-Staff can appeal to any decision if they consider it unfair and other staffers agree.